Science Fiction Trivia

[ffutures]

Hint 4: The author of the second book is still alive, the others are dead; the author in question wrote several Sherlock Holmes spinoff books mentioned above, and has also written books set in the Lord Darcy universe and numerous other works. His first novel was a collaboration with the author of the first book of this series, just to make things more confusing...

[ffutures]

OK. Another clue...

The author's initials, in no particular order, were MK, TAW, and CA

[ffutures]

OK, looks like I finally stumped everyone.

The series was the Greenwich Village Trilogy consisting of
The Butterfly Kid by Chester Anderson
The Unicorn Girl by Michael Kurland (the one who is still alive and has written several Moriarty novels and novels set in Randall Garret's Lord Darcy universe)
The Probability Pad by T.A. Waters (who appears as Sir Thomas Les'Eaux in the Lord Darcy books)

Anderson's first novel was a collaboration with Michael Kurland, Ten Years to Doomsday.
later - sorry, that was Kurland's first novel, Anderson had earlier solo books.

OK, let's try a much easier question:

Which SF film contained the first cinematic launch countdown?
OR which 1936 British film contained one?

[RockDoctor]

OK, let's try a much easier question:

Which SF film contained the first cinematic launch countdown?
OR which 1936 British film contained one?

H.G.Wells, Shape of Things to Come, 1936. I'm guessing, since it involves a Moon-shot.

[ffutures]

OK, let's try a much easier question:

Which SF film contained the first cinematic launch countdown?
OR which 1936 British film contained one?

H.G.Wells, Shape of Things to Come, 1936. I'm guessing, since it involves a Moon-shot.

Correct answer to the second question - the other one was much earlier, Fritz Lang's Woman in the Moon (German Frau im Mond) from 1929. Your turn!

[RockDoctor]

Correct answer to the second question - the other one was much earlier, Fritz Lang's Woman in the Moon (German Frau im Mond) from 1929. Your turn!

OK, I'm going to take a lurch from space-y SF to a more down to Earth series. Positively chthonic in part. Name the character or series.
"This undoubted bastard abandoned his PhD and ended up washed-up and entangled in the twisted little bureaucratic tentacles of a non-existent government department."



Totally off-track : if anyone is intending to watch the F1 this weekend, they're (re-)trialling using thermal cameras in the cockpit camera feeds. It's really quite interesting seeing the work the tyres do reflected in the cooling and heating patterns between straight and corner. I was just watching the practice session, and hopefully the feature will make it to race day.

[Disembodied]

Name the character or series.
"This undoubted bastard abandoned his PhD and ended up washed-up and entangled in the twisted little bureaucratic tentacles of a non-existent government department."

It sounds a little bit like Charles Stross's Laundry series - except not enough to make me think it actually is …

[RockDoctor]

Name the character or series.
"This undoubted bastard abandoned his PhD and ended up washed-up and entangled in the twisted little bureaucratic tentacles of a non-existent government department."

It sounds a little bit like Charles Stross's Laundry series - except not enough to make me think it actually is …

A hole in one!
What didn't fit? I thought I'd wedged something from the series into every phrase, and I had a bout of "Laundry" books for the last month or two.

[Disembodied]

Oh! I wouldn't have called Bob Howard an "undoubted bastard", is all. Harry Flashman is an undoubted bastard: Bob's just a bit of a computer geek (who did, it's true, almost destroy Wolverhampton with an algorithm, but that was never his intention …).

Now I have to think of a question … OK: name three SF characters whose name (first or second) starts with Q. Full name and title of book/film/TV series/etc. Titles don't count, so e.g. "Aelita, Queen of Mars" is out.

[ffutures]

Oh! I wouldn't have called Bob Howard an "undoubted bastard", is all. Harry Flashman is an undoubted bastard: Bob's just a bit of a computer geek (who did, it's true, almost destroy Wolverhampton with an algorithm, but that was never his intention …).

Now I have to think of a question … OK: name three SF characters whose name (first or second) starts with Q. Full name and title of book/film/TV series/etc. Titles don't count, so e.g. "Aelita, Queen of Mars" is out.

Does Jonny Quest count? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Quest

Q, from Star Trek

and Professor Bernard Quatermass

later - and don't forget Q the Winged Serpent, which is sort of cryptozoology SF, but I'm not sure that Q is actually his real name.

[RockDoctor]

Oh! I wouldn't have called Bob Howard an "undoubted bastard", is all.

First book, he's Bob Howard. 4th book we're added that his middle and confirmation names are Oliver and Francis. Making him both a literal (name spelling) and metaphorical BOFH.
Need I go on? Clickity-click!

[Disembodied]

Does Jonny Quest count? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Quest

Q, from Star Trek

and Professor Bernard Quatermass

later - and don't forget Q the Winged Serpent, which is sort of cryptozoology SF, but I'm not sure that Q is actually his real name.

All good - well, maybe not the quetzalcoatlus, but Jonny Quest, Q, and Quatermass are all fine. Over to you!

[Disembodied]

First book, he's Bob Howard. 4th book we're added that his middle and confirmation names are Oliver and Francis. Making him both a literal (name spelling) and metaphorical BOFH.
Need I go on? Clickity-click!

Ah - that's an in-joke that went over my head, I'm afraid!

[ffutures]

Damn, now I have to think of a question!

OK - a 1950s SF-related poem allegedly inspired by the work of Paul Dirac became an opera, a couple of music concept albums, and most recently a feature film. Name the poet and poem, and the prize won by the author.

[RockDoctor]

Ah - that's an in-joke that went over my head, I'm afraid!

Charlie Stross (Laundry Files author) spent plenty of time earning his daily crust as a BOFH, and he lets it show. His blog (antipope.org , which is one of those relics of doing a favour and a spelling mistake for a friend, as you'd expect from a BOFH) makes lots of reference to it. In fact, it's almost as entertaining as Simon's (the original BOFH, from USENET days) continuing column. I occasionally stumble onto the Reg for computing news, but when I choose to go there, it's to find out what the BOFH (and the PFY) have been up to.